Candle
by Tiffany Blews
Summary: He doesn't like the word forever, but that's it, that's how long he wants to spend with her. DerekCasey twoshot.
1. Chapter 1

_'Cause I'm burning for you_

_Burning for you just like a candle_

&&&

Their meetings are always behind closed doors.

His room or hers, it doesn't really matter.

Right now her hands are twined tightly in his hair, his chestnut locks tangled into her palms. His fingers are splayed across her stomach, tracing invisible patterns into her skin, she sighs and he smiles against her neck.

Their fights are fake these days; she screams until her throat is sore and then kisses him until her lips are numb. They haven't been at it for long, a couple months. A couple months too short, and he thinks he is the biggest fucking idiot - he wasted so much time. Graduation approaches fast, he holds her close and there is less _doing _and more memorizing. He knows she'll leave and become great, he'll go wherever he's accepted and that will be it (he doesn't want to be forgotten.)

His tongue traces that spot on her throat, she shivers then grabs a fistful of his shirt and pulls his lips back to hers. His smile never leaves when they're together, and he swears he'll never forget this - he'll never forget her. The way she breathes: strangled _ooh_'s and _ahh_'s that hitch when he touches the right place. The way she says his name: Der_ek_, and its always two syllables long, perfect. The way they fit: its crazy and she's _Casey_, but her body fits his like a glove. Long dancer's legs that intertwine with his in a way that drives him completely mad and her face, God, her face with those eyes that could bring him to his knees.

He doesn't like the word forever, but that's it, that's how long he wants to spend with her.

&&&

"What are we gonna do, Case?" He asks, his breath hot on her cheek as they tangle together in their favorite supply closet.

She looks at him, her beautiful face saddened by the topic, the one that makes her stomach hurt with anxiety, her palms sweat with dread. She pulls back, leans against the opposite wall, the heals of her hands push against her eyes, trying to clear her mind.

She takes a deep wavering breath, and he hates to hurt her (even though this doesn't really qualify, he's just bringing up a subject that has to be discussed.)

"Everytime I think about it, I just feel sick."

She shakes her head, curls an arm around her stomach.

"We don't have to talk about it," he steps closer and she sighs as she leans into him.

"I'm tired of avoiding, though, and its coming, Derek. Getting closer everyday."

He nods, his teeth making bite marks on his lip, _sorry I know its coming Casey and I hate hate hate having this decision and all these words I just want you, yeah, forever, and I couldn't really give a fuck what else happens. _

"What do you want, Derek?" She asks, her eyes reading through a thousand complications inside her head.

"I think its pretty obvious, isn't it?"

She smiles, warm and _his_, and he answers it with a grin, pulls her close and kisses her lips like he's never going to get another chance.

"Then that's it. We'll figure it out. We're gonna be okay."

He nods, and yeah the anxiety is still there (its just a part of this relationship), but he has faith in her; she always figures things out and this should be no different.

&&&

"Quiet," is whispered into the collar of his shirt as she crashes him against his door.

"Always." He replies, his world spinning, drunk off of her mere presence.

She can't get his shirt off fast enough and he wonders if the others know, not Marti or the parents, just Liz and Ed. They are so observant, always watching and filing away everything that they see; they probably know. They probably know and they are smiling to themselves in the games closet, they probably had a bet going, he wonders who won.

"Hey," she says, eyes alight with excitement, "I figured it out."

He smiles, his arms wrapping around her waist.

"No.."

"Yeah, for real."

"Okay," he smiles wider with anticipation, "lay it on me."

"We run away, me and you. We get in the prince and just _drive_ - wherever we wanna go."

He smirks, "I don't think so, Case. You have too bright of a future to waste. Plus, the prince just isn't equipped for a road trip."

She snaps her fingers in mock disappointment, "Damn, I was banking on that."

He laughs, kisses her cheek.

&&&

"George?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you noticed something... different between Casey and Derek?"

"No. Have you?"

"I think they're getting along."

"Really? Took them long enough."

"There's less yelling."

"Well, if there's less yelling, I really don't care what's going on."

&&&

"I think I've got it."

"Oh?"

She's lying across his bed, hands behind her head, staring at the ceiling. She's been quiet for the past ten minutes and he's been screwing around with his iTunes.

She sits up, fixes her ponytail.

"Alright, I got accepted to Toronto, really great school, wonderful theatre program, and you got accepted too, right? It's actually really simple. We just both go."

He doesn't think its possible for something involving _them_ to be so simple, but it actually is and they've been stressing over _nothing_. It's like when he was in Algebra (fun fact: he was an _advanced _math student), and everything was really complicated, but then they would get to a unit that was like super easy. He couldn't accept that it was so straightforward. So he beat it to death, confusing and complicating the whole thing until it seemed plausible. (That teacher hated him, by the way.)

He doesn't want to be pessimistic and he doesn't want to believe that there's a catch (because it always seems like there's a catch. Example: here's the girl of your dreams Derek, but wait, she's your step-sister.), so he just smiles at her.

&&&

They planned the whole thing out.

Here's how it happens:

They're eating dinner on a Wednesday night, it quiet and Casey says _I've got an announcement to make. _

Everyone looks up from their dinner and she takes a breath, _I've decided on Toronto._

Nora smiles, but she thinks her daughter could do better. She won't pass judgment though, because Casey's always been pretty much an adult, and she thinks she knows what's best for herself.

"Oh, that's wonderful, honey."

"Toronto's a great school," George says, nodding as he takes another bite of spaghetti.

Derek laughs a little and she whips her head around to look at him, "What?"

"Nothing, nothing, it's just that I, um, _decided_ on Toronto, too."

George's head snaps up, "You got accepted to Toronto?"

"Derek that's great!" Nora says, and Casey makes a disgusted noise.

"You're kidding me, right? Am I being Punk'd? Because no way in hell did _you_ get accepted to the same place I did."

"Language," Nora warns.

"Acutally, Case, not only did I get accepted, I might even get a partial scholarship for hockey."

George's eyes widen.

"Derek, that is just... _I am so proud of you!_"

"Oh God, I thought I was _free_," she whimpers.

"Casey, be nice! Plus, this way, the two of you could share an apartment! We would save so much money."

"What?!" They chime in simultaneously.

"Oh, we'll talk about it another time, let's finish dinner."

Casey smiles and she turns to see Lizzie staring hard at her.

---

That night, when everyone's asleep, he slips out of his room and glides quietly over to hers. He is stopped halfway between doors, however, by a nosy fourteen year old.

"Edwin! Holy shit, you scared the hell out of me!"

Edwin rolls his eyes.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Waiting on you, D. There are some things we need to discuss, like, maybe, what _you're_ doing out here?"

"Getting a glass of water."

"Sure, whatever."

Derek crosses his arms, "Okay, what else would I be doing?"

Edwin rolls his eyes again, looks pointedly at Casey's room.

"I'm not blind, you know."

"Whatever you're implying, it's wrong. Now go to bed before you wake somebody up."

"Alrght, bro, but remember: I'm not a rat, I'm your brother. We have to stick together."

Derek nods; even though that line was way corny, it still feels good to hear. And, having someone else in on the secret might not be such a bad thing. (But he's still not going to admit to anything.)

(He _knew_ it. He knew that they knew. What?)

* * *

_Author Note - twoshot, and I actually liked this one. Review because they help. Second Chapter should come soon. Review!(:_


	2. Chapter 2

He remembers the first time, and it seems like the beginning of his life.

It's cliche and it happened just the way you'd think it would. He was screaming (he really can't even remember why), she was screaming, and he said something like _God, Casey, don't you get it? _Her eyes got this weird look in them, something like confusion (Casey knows all and he'd never seen the emotion on her before), and he sighed, said _uhh, nothing, never-never mind_. He'd turned to walk away, she touched his arm, _what am I missing, Derek? _He couldn't turn her down, couldn't walk away anymore, couldn't wish and wonder. _I'm yours, alright, you have me. I can't look at anything without seeing you; I can't listen to anything without hearing you; you're just - I can't... _She stared at him, blue eyes searching, and he couldn't take it. He put his hands on her waist, pulled her to him, and kissed her like it meant everything.

And that's it. The beginning. Or the end, depending on how you look at things (the end of Derek the Womanizer, the end of him seeing her as a sister, the end - well you get the point.)

&&&

Graduation comes and goes, she cries (he doesn't) and Nora snaps about three dozen pictures.

They go to a party that night, he tells her to loosen up and she scowls at him. He watches her from across the room and when it gets to be too much, he walks over to where she and Emily stand, whispers in her ear, and then makes his way out the back door. She follows moments later, and he kisses her under the moonlight. She tastes like beer and it's funny, because _Casey_ and _beer? _She giggles, says _well you said to _(she makes air quotes) _'loosen up'. _He laughs, kisses her again, she traces his jaw line with her finger.

"Wow, graduation..." She doesn't finish but he knows what she means. He never thought they'd make it this far either.

"Wow, me and you." And she laughs, eyes sparkling and he wonders how he lived without having her in his arms for so long.

---

"So, I've been thinking, and I know you _really _want to get away from Derek, but - oh, honey don't make that face!" Nora says as Casey grimaces (and it's all part of the plan.)

"Casey, please, he's your brother - "

"_Step_-brother," Casey interrupts.

Nora scowls at her.

" - and he's not _that_ bad. It would save us a lot of money, think about it - we have to send both of you to college for four years, that's very expensive. Just share an apartment with him. I'll tell George to have a talk with him, I'm sure he won't make as big of a fuss as you're making."

Casey sighs and Nora says, "Lighten up, honey, atleast you'll have one person that you know around!"

"Wonderful," Casey mutters, but when Nora leaves the room, a smile spreads across her face.

---

Summer is filled with laughter and more fake fighting and tracing her tan lines.

She takes too many pictures: there's him and Marti in the park, Lizzie at a soccer game, Edwin rolling his eyes, George and Nora laughing together, and a couple snapshots of them together. His favorite is one where they're posing, his arm is draped over her neck and hers is wrapped around his waist. She's wearing her bright smile and he's grinning (like he always does when she's around).

He catches Lizzie staring at it (Casey printed them all out and put them in a scrapbook), her eyebrows furrowed together. He walks over, says _what's up? _She looks up, favoring Casey with her determined expression.

"Am I missing something?" She says, her eyes shifting back to the picture.

He can't say yes, but he's tired of saying no, so he just smiles wide (and it's pretty much all the truth she needs.)

---

He's never felt this way before.

He's not sure if he likes it, but he doesn't want it to stop.

They're sitting around the table, the whole family, and they're laughing. Everyone, just laughing and generally enjoying eachothers company. It's the going away dinner, the one he's been dreading for the past few weeks, and he sits next to her, watching as her eyes light up and her cheeks flush. She puts a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter, her shoulders shaking; he takes a picture with his mind so he won't forget.

They leave tomorrow, headed for the University of Toronto, headed to their new apartment. He's nervous but also genuinely excited, because, really? A place where they can just _be_. It feels like a joke but he's fairly certain it's real. He feels himself smiling and she looks over at him, slow motion, her hair falling in her face and her ocean eyes locking on his. She blinks, her smile growing wider as her hand finds his beneath the table. It is warm and secure and the thought hits him - he will have this everyday.

He wants to burst with happiness (God, he's such a girl, _burst with happiness?_), him and Casey, in an apartment, alone together. He imagines them ordering takeout and bickering over the color of walls, he can see the way she'll clean everything obsessively and he'll mess it up again just to see her flustered. It'll be like now, except there will be no secrets and no hiding, only him and only her, only their tiny two bedroom apartment with the stampings of himself and Casey plastered all around.

Slow motion turns fast as she squeezes his hand, he wonders if she's had this epiphany too. Probably not, she probably figured it out ages ago, she's just been waiting on him to catch up.

---

Dinner ends and he volunteers to do the dishes (it's kind of a last hurrah type thing, and besides Casey's doing it with him).

She washes and he dries, her smile doesn't leave the entire time and he's not suprised to find that his won't go away either.

"I'm gonna miss living here," she says, her foot tapping out a rythm on the linoleum.

"Me too, good times. I mean, there was that time in the bathroom, oh, and the games closet, that was gr-"

"Der_ek_!" She shrieks, but she's laughing, he laughs with her and she cocks her head to the side, stares at him.

"What?"

"Nothing - you just look really cute when you're happy."

He blushes, tries to hide it. She dries off her hands, turns to face him, tucks hair behind his ear and runs her palm down his neck.

"Are you sure about this? 'Cause if you're not, that's okay. I don't want you to feel like you have to do - "

"Casey," he takes her hand in his, "of course I'm sure."

She lets out a sigh, says _I keep looking for the letdown, you know? _

"Believe me, I know."

&&&

He's suprised to find that there is no letdown.

Two months into their freshmen year, and there's still no letdown. They spend their days in class and their nights cooking dinner and watching tv. They've made great friends already (Casey calls Emily every once in a while and Sam's a Toronto student so there's no separation there) and they attend parties occasionally. They clean on Sundays (yeah, _he_cleans now), cranking up the volume on the stereo, dancing around with brooms and windex in hand to everything from Miley Cyrus to Jack Johnson, and they are happy.

---

She is at _every_ hockey game.

And there are times, when he's tired and he's taken one too many hits, that he'll look up into the stands, searching for her face. He panics as his eyes scatter across the rows, and in those few moments when he can't find her, he expects that he never will, that he will keep searching forever...

But, then he sees her, eyes meeting his and her lips forming around his name, _derekderekderek. _The slow motion comes back, his world stops spinning, and he wants to die right there, because how could one person make him so impossibly happy?

She's Casey, and she's _crazy_, but there isn't a part of her that he'd throw away. She gets him and she _wants_ him, for some unknown reason. And suddenly, he understands.

There will be bumps in the road, rough patches, hard times, but life is a wonderful thing, and sometimes, once in a blue moon, it can give you exactly what you want.

_Author Note - I know that second chapter was hugely disappointing. Or not. Tell me in a review. Anyways, if you're in need of some Dasey inspiration, I suggest you watch the video Stripped ~ Dasey by lyraGW on YouTube. It's wonderful. Seriously, it's the best Dasey video I've ever watched._


End file.
